My eyes darted over toward the door, and I saw Rhett come in with Tommy. His eyes were scanning the floor like mine had been only moments before, but now I hoped he didn’t see me. Now, I cursed the fact that we were sitting in the middle of the floor. Everyone saw that Luke Thomas was sitting next to me, leaning a little too close and smiling a little too broadly.
My eyes connected with Rhett’s as I watched his expression fall.
This was not good. Between that note and this circumstance, I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking there was something brewing between Luke and me for the night, and that was not the case. I tried to scoot my chair away from Luke a bit as I pleaded with my eyes for Rhett to come over, but instead, he led Tommy away to a different table.
Shit. This wasn’t good.
“Isn’t that the douchebag that broke your heart?”
I whipped my head back around to Luke as I watched him follow my line of sight.
“Rhett something, right?” he asked.
“Don’t worry. She’s got plenty of douchebag sitting right next to her,” Ana said.
“Yes, that’s Rhett, the guy I dated in high school,” I said.
“Didn’t he, like, cheat on you or something?” Luke asked.
I darted my eyes over to him as I scooted my chair further away from him.
“I don’t really want to talk about it,” I said. “Let’s just have some dinner.”
“Whatever you want. You look beautiful tonight, by the way,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said.
We got our food, and I ate it as fast as I could. Ana was trying to diffuse the tension growing at the table, but Luke was determined to make this a spectacle. Every time Rhett looked over, Luke tried to put a move on me, pulling my chair closer to his and trying to kiss my cheek. I finally had to get up and tell him I wasn’t feeling well to put some distance between us. He offered to escort me back to my room, but Ana interjected and told him she could escort me back and that his services wouldn’t be needed.
Then, she shot him a nasty look.
“What the fuck’s his problem?” Ana asked.
“He’s just Luke; nerdy awkward Luke. What can we get into tonight?” I asked.
“How do you feel about the casino?” she asked. “We could play the penny slots or something.”
“Sounds good to me. Anything to get me away from that damn dinner,” I said.
“Come on. I’ll show you where the casino is.”
We made our way to the elevator and took it up to the casino floor. There were card games and slot machines, dice being rolled, and roulette being played. There were flashing lights, the music was cranked up and membe
rs of staff walking around in tuxedos and brightly-colored costumes.
But when I turned a corner to explore the place, Luke was standing at the other end of it, staring back at me.
“Ana,” I said as I backtracked. “Ana, where are you?”
I looked around, trying to find my best friend.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Where did you go?” I asked.
“I’m right here. Don’t get your panties in a—”
Her eyes fluttered over my shoulder, and I chanced a look behind me.
“Is that motherfucker following us?” Ana asked.